Helianthus occidentalis

Helianthus occidentalis (fewleaf sunflower or western sunflower)[3] is a species of sunflower native to the Eastern and Central United States. It grows mostly in the Great Lakes Region and in the Ozarks, with additional populations scattered as far as Massachusetts, Texas, and the Florida Panhandle.[4]

Helianthus occidentalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Asterids
Order:
Asterales
Family:
Asteraceae
Genus:
Helianthus
Species:
H. occidentalis
Binomial name
Helianthus occidentalis
Synonyms[1]
  • Helianthus dowellianus M.A.Curtis
  • Helianthus illinoensis Gleason [2]

H. occidentalis differs from other, similar species by its sparse leaves, most of which are crowded around the lower part of the stem. This perennial plant reaches heights from 2 to 5 ft (60–150 cm). It produces one to several yellow flower heads, each with 8-14 ray florets surrounding more than 50 disc florets.[3]

The word occidentalis means "western" in Latin. The plant was first described in 1836, when the Great Lakes Region was considered the western part of the United States.[5][6]

Subspecies[1][3]
  • H. o. subsp. occidentalis - most of species range
  • H. o. subsp. plantagineus (Torr. & A.Gray) Shinners - Texas, Arkansas

References
  1. "Helianthus occidentalis". The Global Compositae Checklist (GCC) – via The Plant List.
  2. photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Illinois in 1904, type specimen of Helianthus illinoensis, syn of Helianthus occidentalis'
  3. Schilling, Edward E. (2006). "Helianthus occidentalis". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). 21. New York and Oxford – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  4. "Helianthus occidentalis". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
  5. Riddell, John Leonard (1836). Western Journal of the Medical and Physical Sciences. 9 (36): 577. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. "Helianthus occidentalis". Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden.


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